From: Rusty�Bullethole, [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sunday Express 19.11.00 L100,000 for Sweeney man covered in blood BY JOHN TWOMEY A FORMER Flying Squad detective who was cleared of corruption is to receive up to L100,000 after he was covered in blood when a colleague was accidentally shot. Keith Green, 43, was stricken with depression after one of his friends was hit and wounded in a "friendly fire" incident as police tackled a gang of dangerous armed robbers. The former detective sergeant was drenched in blood as a carefully-planned ambush in Chingford, East London, in April 1993, went horribly wrong. Mr Green and his colleagues, who were all armed, confronted the gunmen and one of them pointed a pistol at his face. In a split second, he took the decision to shoot the robber but suddenly another Flying Squad officer fired a shot which hit a third colleague in the hand. If the shot officer had not been in the way, Mr Green feared the bullet would have struck him in the face, head or chest. The rugby-playing former officer, described by colleagues as a "gentle giant", was so traumatised by the shooting, he suffered a mental breakdown. Tormented by repeated flashbacks featuring the sounds of his colleague's screams, the sight of blood and the smell of burning flesh, Mr Green was pushed to the brink of suicide. While he was suffering from acute mental health problems, he was charged with aggravated burglary and conspiracy to supply cannabis. His arrest was part of an elaborate sting operation set up by Scotland Yard's anti-corruption task force CIB3 which involved planting 80 kilos of cannabis resin in a flat in Leyton, East London. Two other men were also held. At the Old Bailey in October, 1998, a jury cleared Mr Green of both charges after hearing how he was suffering mental problems at the time of his arrest. He was the first man to stand trial as a result of former Commissioner Sir Paul Condon's crackdown on alleged corruption in Britain's biggest police force. Mr Green launched the civil action against the Metropolitan Police shortly after the shooting. At the High Court in London last month, he and the Met settled the action "to the mutual satisfaction of all parties", said a Yard source. Both sides also agreed to a confidentiality clause and cannot comment on the settlement. Mr Green, who joined the Met a week after his 19th birthday, was the detective who arrested security guard "Florida" Phil Wells, who vanished to America's sunshine state after stealing L1 million from Heathrow in 1989. Mr Green retired on health grounds in July, 1996. Earlier this year, he launched a bitter attack on the tactics employed by CIB3. The unit has now been replaced by the Internal Investigations Command as part of a restructuring programme. The Flying Squad, universally known as The Sweeney, and the Yard's SO19 firearms branch are in the front line in combating escalating armed crime and experts say there will always by a small percentage of "friendly fire" incidents. ------------------------------------------------ You have got to give him top marks for inventiveness - far more entertaining than the usual bad back. Rusty Cybershooters website: http://www.cybershooters.org List admin: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ___________________________________________________________ T O P I C A http://www.topica.com/t/17 Newsletters, Tips and Discussions on Your Favorite Topics
